Images verified by Reuters showed smoke in the vicinity of the East-West oil pipeline, as the Houthis captured a strategic island of Perim in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The waterway in the Red Sea is key to global oil shipping.<\/p>\n
Earlier, two sources from the Saudi-backed, internationally recognised Yemeni government said its forces had withdrawn from Perim and that the Houthis had also taken the mainland Red Sea coastal town of Dhubab, which faces the island.<\/p>\n
The developments threaten to bring further chaos for energy exports. The price of oil touched $108 a barrel on Friday for the first time since May after the Houthis<\/a> captured Yemen\u2019s strategic port city of Mokha.<\/p>\n Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, has relied on the Red Sea route since the Iran<\/a> conflict \u2060effectively closed Hormuz, through which a fifth of global oil used to flow.<\/p>\n Mokha is around 50 miles from Bab el-Mandeb, a geopolitical chokepoint connecting the Red Sea<\/a> and the Gulf of Aden and through which about 12 per cent of the world\u2019s goods are typically shipped.<\/p>\n <\/a>Iraq confirms attacks on Saudi pipeline originated from its territory<\/p>\n Attacks on a key Saudi oil pipeline were launched from Iraqi territory, Iraq’s government said on Saturday, pledging to investigate further.<\/p>\n Iraq closed two key border crossings with Iran, halting all passenger and commercial traffic until further notice, in the wake of the attack, Iranian media reported on Saturday.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, fears continued to grow that gas and oil prices could rise and international shipping could be further disrupted after Yemen’s Houthis seized a key island and captured a Red Sea port. <\/p>\n Namita Singh12 September 2026 08:25<\/p>\n <\/a>Anthropic blocks users in Houthi-held Yemen over weapons development<\/p>\n The AI company Anthropic said it blocked users in northern Yemen who were using its AI models to run weapons development programmes, some using commercially available smartphones.<\/p>\n Anthropic said its models were being used to pursue sophisticated precision, long-range ballistic and hypersonic missiles. The company said it identified the users during an internal investigation and banned their accounts.<\/p>\n Iran-backed Houthi rebels who control northern Yemen have been smuggling advanced weapons for years despite a blockade and UN arms embargo. Iran denies arming the rebels.<\/p>\n Anthropic said the accounts used Claude Code to develop software that \u201csteers and stabilises a flying vehicle\u201d and were working to develop weapons including a guided rocket that allows mobile phone users to autonomously track targets.<\/p>\n There is no evidence the users in Yemen succeeded in fielding a weapon, the company said. <\/p>\n Namita Singh12 September 2026 07:14<\/p>\n <\/a>Houthis capture strategic island as Saudi Arabia targets airport<\/p>\n Houthis in Yemen captured the island of Mayun at the entrance of the Red Sea, a key alternative for shipping Saudi oil and other exports since Iran has been targeting vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n The island’s seizure was confirmed by a senior military official with Yemen\u2019s internationally recognised government and a Houthi official. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to talk to journalists.<\/p>\n About 12 per cent of the world\u2019s goods are typically shipped through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the southern end of the Red Sea. It’s especially important to Saudi Arabia, a key US ally.<\/p>\n The Houthis’ military spokesperson, Yahya Saree, said in a statement Friday that \u201cmaritime navigation is safe for all companies except for Saudi vessels”.<\/p>\n But markets are nervous, and experts have described the Houthis as highly unpredictable.<\/p>\n A United Nations spokesperson, Farhan Haq, said Houthi rebels in Mokha seized a compound that had housed UN staff, who all fled safely before the city’s capture. Haq said that \u201cno UN personnel remain in Mokha right now”. <\/p>\n Namita Singh12 September 2026 06:44<\/p>\n <\/a>No political solution in sight<\/p>\n Many residents of Mansouri fled when the latest Israel-Hezbollah war began in March, but returned after the truce in June \u2013 only to flee again when the Israeli military issued a call to evacuate the village last month and began striking it again.<\/p>\n Israel said at the time that it was responding to ceasefire violations by Hezbollah. But it\u2019s not clear why it has been demolishing the village since then.<\/p>\n Some of the displaced were taken in by relatives, while others are staying in school shelters in the nearby city of Tyre. At the height of the war, some 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon. The ceasefire has allowed most of them to return home, but more than 300,000 remain displaced.<\/p>\n With negotiations between Israel and Lebanon \u2013 and between the US and Iran \u2013 stalled, there is no political solution in sight that would allow them to go home.<\/p>\n The latest conflict between Israel and Hezbollah began on 2 March, when the militant group fired rockets across the border two days after Israel and the US launched a war on Iran.<\/p>\n The Lebanese government and Israel reached a framework agreement in June stating Israel will withdraw from Lebanon as Hezbollah is disarmed, but there has been little movement on implementing it.<\/p>\n Lebanese and Israeli officials are expected to meet for another round of US-mediated talks in Rome next month, the US State Department said in a statement early on Saturday. <\/p>\n Namita Singh12 September 2026 06:26<\/p>\n <\/a>Residents of southern Lebanon gather to watch Israeli drones drop explosives on their village<\/p>\n A group of men and children gathered on Friday at a vantage point overlooking their village in southern Lebanon, watching from a distance as Israeli drones descended, carrying boxes laden with explosives to be dropped on houses.<\/p>\n It has become a daily ritual for residents of Mansouri, who fled the village weeks ago and now are watching its destruction from the neighbouring village of Hanniyeh.<\/p>\n Active fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has simmered down since they entered into a truce in June, but the Israeli military now occupies large swaths of southern Lebanon, where it regularly carries out controlled demolitions.<\/p>\n Massive clouds of smoke and dust rise periodically from Mansouri, as the men watching debate which neighbour’s house has been destroyed this time and look for signs of their own. <\/p>\n Early Friday, the Israeli military detonated the village’s public school, Lebanese state media reported.<\/p>\n The Israeli military did not immediately issue a statement on the demolitions. <\/p>\n Namita Singh12 September 2026 06:24<\/p>\n <\/a>US limits air defence time slots for tankers sailing through Hormuz, FT reports<\/p>\n The US has asked tankers travelling through the Strait of Hormuz to sail only at specific times to guarantee military protection after Iran stepped up attacks on ships travelling at night, the Financial Times reported on Saturday.<\/p>\n Washington \u200bhas \u2060been offering air-based \u200cdefence since May to ships wanting to sail \u200cvia a route \u200chugging the Omani coast on the strait’s southern \u2060side.<\/p>\n That period during which ships would be protected was cut down to two specific time slots daily around the start of September, the FT reported, citing emails sent by the US naval co-ordination centre to maritime advisers. <\/p>\n Namita Singh12 September 2026 06:11<\/p>\n <\/a>Why has Saudi Arabia not retaliated against attacks on pipeline<\/p>\n Saudi Arabia has opted against retaliation after the attack on its oil pipeline, so far following a request from the Iraqi prime minister, the Saudi foreign ministry said in a statement, while adding the kingdom reserves the right to “take all measures necessary” to protect its interests.<\/p>\n Iraq’s government condemned attacks. Saudi crude supply fell \u2060to the lowest levels in more than three decades, the International Energy Agency said on Friday, partly due to attacks on ships transiting Bab el-Mandeb by Houthi-linked groups.<\/p>\n Iraq responded by ordering the closure of the Shalamcheh border crossing between Iraq and Iran as a precautionary measure, two security sources told Reuters. <\/p>\n The crossing serves as one of the main routes for imports to Iraq of vegetables and other food supplies from Iran. The two sources said a wide-scale operation was under way to find those responsible for the pipeline attack. <\/p>\n Namita Singh12 September 2026 04:41<\/p>\n <\/a>Days after attack on Saudi pipeline, source of strike unclear<\/p>\n The East-West pipeline was hit on Thursday morning in Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh and Medina regions, the Saudi energy ministry said.<\/p>\n It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the strikes. Satellite images showed black smoke rising from an area of the pipeline south of Medina.<\/p>\n The attack resulted in some injuries and damage that was being assessed, the Saudi foreign ministry said without detailing the impact on exports. The cashiered Iraqi military commander had led \u200coperations in Maysan province, according to Saturday’s statement by the Iraqi prime minister’s office.<\/p>\n Maysan province, which borders Iran in southeastern Iraq, has long been regarded as an area where Iran-backed Shi’ite militias operate and maintain influence. <\/p>\n Namita Singh12 September 2026 04:12<\/p>\n![\"Satellite](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/2026-09-12T071330Z_1241153073_RC2JHNALCM5P_RTRMADP_3_IRAN-CRISIS-SAUDI-PIPELINE-SATELLITE-BEFORE-AFT.jpeg\")
Satellite image shows the East-West pipeline facility in the Hejaz Region, Saudi Arabia, 8 September 2026 (Reuters)<\/p>\n![\"Supporters](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1789198100_253_download...jpeg\")
Supporters celebrate as they attend a rally organised by Houthis in Yemen to celebrate the group’s capture of Mayun Island in the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait (AP)<\/p>\n![\"Smoke](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/2026-09-11T135634Z_1334201511_RC2XGNAT2AVA_RTRMADP_3_ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS-LEBANON-STRIKES.JPG\")
Smoke rises in Mansouri following Israeli strikes as seen from Naqoura, Lebanon, 11 September 2026 (Reuters)<\/p>\n![\"Smoke](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/download.-1..jpeg\")
Smoke billow from an Israeli-controlled detonation in the village of Mansouri, as is seen from Hanniyeh village, southern Lebanon, Friday, 11 September 2026 (AP)<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/tag_reuters-com-2026_newsml_RC2XGNA4J2NB_484003413-reuters.jpeg\")
A satellite image shows black smoke rising from an area of Saudi Arabia\u2019s East-West oil pipeline south of Medina, Hejaz Region, Saudi Arabia 10 September 2026 (Copernicus\/Reuters)<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/GettyImages-511959728.jpeg\")
A picture shows export oil pipelines at an oil facility in the Khark Island, on the shore of the Gulf, on 23 February 2016 (AFP\/Getty)<\/p>\n